After some waiting and a lot of speculation, a completely new film has been announced. Harman Phenix 200, a 200 ASA colour-negative film in 35mm format.
Harman Phoenix 200 is a colour-negative film developed completely in-house, from the emulsion to the cassette during the last 12 months. It is a 200 ASA film made for the standard C41 process, it is a “quirky, experimental film [that] produces high-contrast images with strong, visible grain and punchy, vibrant colours. It’s unlike any other colour film”, according to the Harman Photo press release.
If you’ve never heard of Harman Photo, you aren’t the only one. Harman Photo is a brand of Harman Technology, a company that makes Ilford and Kentmere black and white films but doesn’t own rights to the Ilford name for colour products, thus the Harman branding.
According to the technical data sheet for the film, it is an experimental film, with a strong grain and rich colours – “strong greens, rich reds and bright blues”. It has a box speed of 200 ASA but can be shot a stop under and over-exposed – 100-400 ASA range. Also, there might be some halation effects with strong light sources, and some coating inconsistencies are to be expected.
In addition to the risk of occasional coating anomalies, this film does not have masking dyes and limited antihalation incorporated in the base layer. This means that striking halation effects around bright light sources and reflections are possible.
– Phoenix Technical Data Sheet
Metering for the mid-tones is a recommended procedure, over or under-exposure is “not Phoenix’s friend”. Push processing over the stated one-stop range is not recommended. Judging by the examples available on the ‘net, this film doesn’t have a lot of latitude, it is unforgiving just like a slide film. But it loves evenly, but well-lit colours!
Finally, the price. At the moment of writing this, the film is available at about 15-16€, across the European web-shops. With that price, it is less expensive than Cinestill films, but that’s quite a bit more expensive than Kodak Gold 200 and UltraMax 400 films – not cheap for somewhat inconsistent stock. But it’s an experimental film that should help the company learn how to improve its manufacturing processes, just like Adox Color Mission.
Check out Harman’s store locator here and find where to buy the film.
